HEADBAND WITH FEATURES FOR ADDING REMOVABLE DECORATIVE ADORNMENTS
A headband comprising an adornment support portion comprising a plurality of slots and at least one adornment or adornment fastener strap configured to be received in at least one of the adornment support portion slots. An elastic nape section may connect to opposite ends of the adornment support portion at connection seams to dispose the headband in a closed loop configuration. The adornment fastener strap may have fastener components disposed on opposite surfaces of opposite ends of the strap operable to secure the fastener strap in a loop configuration.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/311,041, filed Mar. 21, 2016, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFashion accessories come in all shapes and sizes. Decorative headbands can provide additional color and design to coordinate with an outfit. In particular, for a patient undergoing chemotherapy or who may be experiencing hair loss for any reason, a headband may provide the wearer with an emotional lift that comes from being able to express their personality and project beauty with an accessory that does not require hair or wig. For wearers without hair, the design of such a headband may need functional features to improve its ability stay on the user's head. Rather than having a different headband for each fashion look, there is a need in the field for a system that permits a wearer to have a comfortable “base” headband that can be personalized with various adornments and changed or enhanced to represent the wearer's personality and design choices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONOne aspect of the invention comprises a headband comprising an adornment support portion comprising a plurality of slots and at least one adornment, such as a ribbon, or adornment fastener strap configured to be received in at least one of the adornment support portion slots. The headband may further comprise an elastic nape section connected to opposite ends of the adornment support portion to dispose the headband in a closed loop configuration. The elastic nape section may comprise an elastic member sandwiched between an upper fabric layer and a bottom fabric layer. The adornment support portion may comprise an anti-slip layer disposed on a surface configured to contact a wearer's head.
In one embodiment, the adornment support portion comprises a first, relatively wider fabric base portion and a second, relatively narrower fabric top portion, wherein the base and the top are connected to one another by a plurality of spaced seams such that each of the plurality of slots is defined by the first and second fabric portions between adjacent seams. In another embodiment, the adornment support portion comprises at least a base fabric portion, with at least two rows of seamed slots that penetrate the base fabric portion.
In some embodiments, the adornment fastener strap comprises fastener components, such as microhook/microloop components, disposed on opposite surfaces of opposite ends of the strap operable to secure the fastener strap in a loop configuration. In some embodiments, the adornment support portion is wider in the center than at or near the seams where it connects to the nape elastic portion.
In various embodiments of the invention, depicted in the drawings, exemplary headbands in accordance with aspects of the invention comprise an adornment support section configured to receive adornments secured thereto and, preferably, a nape section connected to the adornment section for securing the adornment section to the wearer's head. The nape section preferably comprises an elastic member sandwiched between an upper layer and a lower layer of soft fabric, but may comprise any material or combination of materials capable of providing elastic properties. The term “elastic” is thus not limited to any particular materials of construction (e.g. it may comprise, but does not necessarily comprise, rubber or some elastomer component to impart the elastic properties). Suitable components with desirable qualities are well known in the field of clothing manufacture and design. The elastic may have sufficient stretchability to facilitate a one-size-fits-all design, or may have less stretchability to support a more tailored fit to the head size of the wearer, in which case the headbands may be made available in sizes such as small, medium, large, etc., or to meet standard head sizes akin to hat sizings (7, 7¼, 7½, etc.), as is known in the art.
In a first embodiment, depicted in
In a second embodiment, depicted in
In some embodiments, as depicted in
In another embodiment, not shown, the adornment support may comprise a single hard shell structure, a hard shell with a soft and/or anti-slip fabric bottom, or a combination of hard and soft materials. The anti-slip layer, where present, may comprise a full bottom layer coextensive with the top layer, or one or more anti-slip fabric portions affixed to the top layer or affixed to a non-slip bottom layer. The headband may have one or more layers (not shown) intermediate to the top and bottom layers, such as but not limited to a fill. In some embodiments, particularly targeted to wearers with a normal head of hair, the adornment support may be held in the hair by any means known in the art (not shown) for securing an accessory in a wearer's hair, and may lack the nape portion as shown in some of the other embodiments.
In one embodiment, the adornment strap 102 comprises a fabric strip with one component (e.g. the male, microhook portion) 104, 404 of a microhook/microloop fastener (e.g. Velcro® brand) on a first (e.g. front) surface 102F at one end, and a mating component 106, 406 (e.g., the female, microloop portion) on the opposite (e.g. back) surface 102B at the opposite end. The strap is sized to permit the strap to be threaded through the slots or slot pockets in the support section, and then secured into a loop configuration with the male and female Velcro® fasteners mated together, as depicted in
Although shown in use with adornments, a headband having at least a portion of which as shown herein comprising symmetrical slots or slot pockets is also claimed. As shown, the headband portion has a first width W1 between its longitudinal edges at the center of the headband which tapers to a second thickness W2 closer to seams 110 and 112. Although this is a preferred configuration, the design is not limited to any particular geometry. Similarly, although elastic nape portion 200 shown in
The adornments may comprise any aesthetic component desirable to a user, including but not limited to flowers 408, bejeweled sections (not shown), buttons (not shown), and dangling ornaments 329. One or more ribbons 350, 500 may instead or also be provided for fastening through the slots. The headband may be sold with adornments and/or adornments may be sold separately. The adornments may include seasonal or holiday themes (e.g. Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Valentine's Day, spring, fall, 4th of July, etc.), may be color-coordinated, may have ethnic or cultural significance, or may have significance associated with a particular social, medical, or political cause, all without limitation. Although depicted with an exemplary number of slots, the number of slots may vary according to various designs and head sizes.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the invention.
Claims
1. A headband comprising:
- an adornment support portion comprising a plurality of slots;
- at least one adornment or adornment fastener strap configured to be received in at least one of the adornment support portion slots.
2. The headband of claim 1, further comprising an elastic nape section connected to opposite ends of the adornment support portion at connection seams to dispose the headband in a closed loop configuration.
3. The headband of claim 2, wherein the elastic nape section comprises an elastic member sandwiched between an upper fabric layer and a bottom fabric layer.
4. The headband of claim 2, wherein the has opposite longitudinal edges that extend between the connection seams, wherein the adornment support portion has a first width between the longitudinal edges at or near each of the connection seams and a second width in a center of the adornment support portion located between the connection seams, wherein the second width is greater than the first width.
5. The headband of claim 1, wherein the adornment support portion comprises an anti-slip layer disposed on a surface configured to contact a wearer's head.
6. The headband of claim 1, wherein the adornment support portion comprises a first, relatively wider fabric base portion and a second, relatively narrower fabric top portion, wherein the base and the top are connected to one another by a plurality of spaced seams such that each of the plurality of slots is defined by the first and second fabric portions between adjacent seams.
7. The headband of claim 1, wherein the adornment support portion comprises at least a base fabric portion, with at least two rows of seamed slots that penetrate the base fabric portion.
8. The headband of claim 7, wherein the base fabric portion comprises an anti-slip fabric bottom layer and a relatively softer fabric top layer.
9. The headband of claim 1, wherein the adornment comprises a ribbon.
10. The headband of claim 1, wherein the adornment fastener strap comprises fastener components disposed on opposite surfaces of opposite ends of the strap operable to secure the fastener strap in a loop configuration.
11. The headband of claim 10, wherein the fastener components comprise microloop/microhook fastener components.
12. The headband of claim 10, wherein the adornment fastener strap comprises fabric.
13. The headband of claim 10, wherein the adornment fastener strap comprises a relatively stiff material of construction and has a plurality of regions of relatively lesser stiffness at which the strap is sufficiently bendable to facilitate disposing the strap in the loop configuration.
14. The headband of claim 13, wherein the adornment fastener strap comprises plastic and the regions of relatively lesser stiffness comprise crease lines.
15. A headband comprising:
- an adornment support portion comprising a first, relatively wider fabric base portion and a second, relatively narrower fabric top portion, wherein the base and the top are connected to one another by a plurality of spaced seams that define a plurality of slots bounded by the first and second fabric portions and adjacent seams;
- at least one adornment or adornment fastener strap configured to be received in at least one of the adornment support portion slots; and
- an elastic nape section connected to opposite ends of the adornment support portion to dispose the headband in a closed loop configuration.
16. The headband of claim 15, wherein the fabric base portion comprises an anti-slip layer disposed on a surface configured to contact a wearer's head.
17. The headband of claim 16, wherein the adornment fastener strap comprises fastener components disposed on opposite surfaces of opposite ends of the strap operable to secure the fastener strap in a loop configuration.
18. A headband comprising:
- an adornment support portion at least a base fabric portion, with at least two rows of seamed slots that penetrate the base fabric portion;
- at least one adornment or adornment fastener strap configured to be received in at least one of the adornment support portion slots; and
- an elastic nape section connected to opposite ends of the adornment support portion to dispose the headband in a closed loop configuration.
19. The headband of claim 18, wherein the base fabric portion comprises an anti-slip fabric bottom layer and a relatively softer fabric top layer.
20. The headband of claim 19, wherein the adornment fastener strap comprises fastener components disposed on opposite surfaces of opposite ends of the strap operable to secure the fastener strap in a loop configuration.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 21, 2017
Publication Date: Sep 21, 2017
Patent Grant number: 10945474
Inventor: Ara Atkinson-Skinner (Bear, DE)
Application Number: 15/464,726